Articles of Jamie Stokes concerning an ex-pats life in Poland

13 Sep 2011 / #1

I have been reading, with great interest, the articles of Jamie stokes concerning an ex-pats life in Poland. Does anyone know this guy? Here are some examples of his work:

The ability to complain bitterly and at great length is an important skill in Poland. When you start to learn Polish one of the first verbs they teach you is 'narzekać.' It's right there on page three, just after weather and professions: "This is Pan Kamiński. Pan Kamiński is complaining to his wife. Pan Kamiński's wife is a lighthouse keeper. She does not like fog." It's all useful stuff.

wiadomosci.wp.pl/kat,1342,title,The-art-of-Polish-complaining,wid,12884469,komentarz.html

Let me know if this stuff is familiar to you.

Des Essientes 7 | 1288

13 Sep 2011 / #2

Look at what he writes in the "Polish myths about England" article linked to above in the OP:

Poland draws its idea of sophistication and civilisation from a Central European ideal that was heavily influenced by Napoleonic France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. England regards this ideal as pompous and probably very tiring. Polish sophistication is intellectualism, fine food, fine clothes, education and concerts. The English have a horror of intellectualism and fall asleep at concerts.

This characterization of Englishmen seems rather hyperbolic to me. If we look at this forum we see that there are indeed several anti-intellectual British posters, but others here seem quite bright and open to continental notions of appropriate discussion topics. This Jamie Stokes does England a disservice by claiming it is a nation of yokels.

MyMom 6 | 136

13 Sep 2011 / #3

His style of writing - exaggeration - quickly becomes more boring than funny, but this is funny:

One of the first Polish humans was a guy named Lech, who invented beer. He had a brother called Russ, who invented alcoholism, and another brother called Czech, who invented talking like a five year old and putting jam on everything—they were an influential family.

rozumiemnic 8 | 3853

14 Sep 2011 / #4

Jamie Stokes does England a disservice by claiming it is a nation of yokels.

I shall drink a glass of lime juice to you DE..cheers!

delphiandomine 86 | 17823

14 Sep 2011 / #5

Polish sophistication is intellectualism, fine food, fine clothes, education and concerts. The English have a horror of intellectualism and fall asleep at concerts.

Polish sophistication, at the minute, is buying rotten second hand Dutch furniture rather than quality new Polish furniture. For what reason, I don't know.

BBman - | 343

14 Sep 2011 / #6

The Polish obsession with foreign goods (even if uglier and poorer quality) was always mind blowing to me. In all the years i lived there i could not wrap my head around it.

aphrodisiac 11 | 2427

14 Sep 2011 / #7

Let me know if this stuff is familiar to you.

of course it is. He has really hit the nail on the head in many cases. I agree with the rental situation and the church goers in the villages. That made me laugh.

His style of writing - exaggeration - quickly becomes more boring than funny

that is his style and I disagree that it is boring. Just his sense of humour which probably went over your head a bit;)

Wedle

14 Sep 2011 / #8

Polish sophistication, at the minute, is buying rotten second hand Dutch furniture rather than quality new Polish furniture

I\am\assuming you are referring to " Dutch furniture" as indonesian,indian and thai, as the main clearing houses for this type of furniture are in Holland. There are people renovating furniture from the 60's 70's and 80's from Poland, then shipping it off to the UK to sell, they are making very good money.

pip 10 | 1658

14 Sep 2011 / #9

no, it is more like Dutch country or Flemish country furniture. Big and bulky, made from oak.

Sidliste_Chodov 1 | 438

14 Sep 2011 / #10

:)

He forgot about the distant cousin, Fritz - he generally preferred to live away from the rest of the family, but occasionally decided to impose upon the Lech family home, but was forcibly expelled eventually ;) However, he was well-liked, as he invented the motor car, and this led the Lech family to invent Polish car crime :)

Plenty of hyperbole in writing over here. You should read some of those old "Boy's Own"- era rugby stories, where each scrum is not just a set-piece, but a miniature re-enactment of the battles of Omdurnan or Spioenkop, and each "drop-goal" is not just a winning kick, but a bouncing bomb flying down the Ruhr.

Mind you, Welsh rugby stories were even better - mixing sex, rugby and mining. All that "... and as Gareth clings to the ball like he holds Myfanwy's heaving bosom behind the Welfare, and dives to score the winning try to a roar which resembles so many roof-falls at the coal face" stuff. haha